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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446512">Can I Sleep With You?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waterlogged_Kazoo/pseuds/Waterlogged_Kazoo'>Waterlogged_Kazoo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Caring Roronoa Zoro, Childhood Memories, Crying, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:53:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,275</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446512</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waterlogged_Kazoo/pseuds/Waterlogged_Kazoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All of the StrawHats have had horrible experiances. One night, Luffy needs a little help dealing with his. (Aka let Zoro have emotions 2020)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Monkey D. Luffy &amp; Roronoa Zoro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>98</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Can I Sleep With You?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I personally wrote this as platonic, but it could definately be interpreted as ZoLu :) I've never written a story like this before, but I did my best! Mostly just my mentally ill ass projecting on my faves</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zoro's night was restless. While the other StrawHats pirates laid in their hammocks fast asleep, he couldn't seem to stop… thinking. He was overjoyed to be reunited with his crewmates after being forced apart for those long two years, but a part of him felt as if he hadn't earned his right to be with them again. Despite the hours, days, weeks, and months he spent vigorously training with the world's strongest swordsman, he felt as if he was still too weak. </p><p>Not good enough.</p><p>Not as good as he should be.</p><p>Not as good as he promised her…</p><p>Zoro grunted in frustration, readjusting his position in his hammock for what felt like the hundredth time. He squeezed his remaining good eye shut. </p><p>I need to sleep. </p><p>Just as he felt his mind slowly start to fall into the comfort of sleep, he was jolted back into awareness by a finger being poked against his cheek.</p><p>"Unghhhhh…" he groaned in annoyance, lazily trying to swat away the offending hand, not bothering to open his eye.</p><p>"Zoroooo." The familiar whine of his captain drifted slowly into his head, but there was something… off.</p><p>The swordsman propped himself up on his elbow, expecting to see Luffy's excited, grinning face and hear the rubber man enthusiastically tell him about some odd idea that supposedly couldn't wait till morning.</p><p>Instead, he saw… a frown.</p><p>Zoro blinked, trying to make out the face of his friend in the dark.</p><p>Luffy stood there, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, not making eye contact with the green haired man. </p><p>Zoro realized, with a sudden pang of worry, that Luffy's eyes were red and slightly puffy. The faint moonlight filtered in through the portholes reflected off the tiny drops of moisture that still clung to his dark eyelashes, and his nose twitched as he sniffled quietly.</p><p>Luffy had been crying.</p><p>"Luffy, what's going on? Did something happen?" Zoro instinctively gripped the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, from where it stood with his other two swords, leaned up against the wall beside his hammock.</p><p>Luffy hesitated for a moment. </p><p>"Zoro," he repeated, quietly so as not to bother his other sleeping crewmates. "Can I sleep with you?"</p><p>The swordsman was momentarily taken aback, though he didn't show it. Sure, Luffy was one of the most physically affectionate people Zoro had ever met, and was always giving hugs and snuggling with the rest of the crew. But Zoro had never heard him request to spend the night with someone.</p><p>"Uh, sure." He replied after a moment.</p><p>A smile spread across Luffy's face, but it seemed almost hollow compared to his usual comically wide grin.</p><p>After a few minutes of struggling, scrambling, and desperately trying not to tip over the swinging hammock, Zoro lay on his back with Luffy settled on top of him, using the swordsman's bare chest as a pillow. Luffy had his arms wrapped tightly around his friend.</p><p>They stayed like that for a few minutes in silence. </p><p>Zoro swallowed, and let out the question that Luffy still had yet to answer.</p><p>"Hey… are you okay? What happened to make you… uh… upset?" Zoro mentally cursed himself for his lack of tact. He was no good at emotions!</p><p>Luffy hesitated again. He let out a quiet sigh against his best friend's tanned skin.</p><p>"I've been thinking about Ace. A lot. I keep having dreams about… about what happened. I was always too busy training with Rayleigh to get sad, but now that we're b-back..."</p><p>The swordsman clenched his jaw. So he wasn't the only one trapped amongst old, painful memories.</p><p>Zoro had heard brief summaries of the events at Marineford two years ago, where Luffy's big brother had been killed by Admiral Akainu. He remembered getting the newspaper on Mihawk's island, Perona hovering over his shoulder as he read it, wide eyed with horror. Of course, the story had blatantly labeled Luffy and his allies as the villains, and had mostly talked about "how great a victory" the deaths of Portgas D. Ace and Edward Newgate had been. But at the time all Zoro could feel was his heart twisting with the need to be there for his captain. </p><p>If only he'd beaten Kuma.</p><p>If only he hadn't been sent away.</p><p>If only he'd been there.</p><p>If only he'd been stronger….</p><p>Zoro shook his head slightly, as if to dislodge the thoughts from his mind. This wasn't the time. This wasn't about him. This was about Luffy.</p><p>Luffy sniffled again. "It's the same with Sabo. I should've been able to… to save him. I s-should've saved Ace."</p><p>The StrawHat captain buried his face in Zoro's chest, beginning to tear up again.</p><p>Zoro didn't know what to do. He'd never helped someone like this before. He could face an army of ten thousand men without fear, but talking someone through their feelings? That terrified him.</p><p>He began running his hand rythmically up and down Luffy's back, as he'd seen Nami do with Chopper once or twice. It seemed to help.</p><p>"Hey, hey. I… I know what you mean. I feel like that too." The green haired man managed to say softly.</p><p>Luffy raised his face up slightly, his lip quivering ever so slightly.</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>A feeling of pressure rose in Zoro's throat. He tried to push it down.</p><p>"When I was younger… about eight probably… I had a friend named Kuina."</p><p>Zoro momentarily asked himself why he had brought it up, he'd never talked inabout his childhood rival with anyone. But when he saw Luffy looking at him with that glint of curiosity in his eyes, he couldn't bring himself to stop.</p><p>"She fought with swords, just like me. Except only one. She was always better than me, always faster, always stronger. We fought each other over and over again, but I always lost."</p><p>Luffy snickered, wiping the tears from his eyes. "She must've been really tough!"</p><p>Zoro let out a quiet, breathy laugh. "Yeah. She was amazing."</p><p>He took a deep breath, trying to continue on.</p><p>"But eventually… I lost her. She… she was in an accident and…" he sighed, knowing Luffy would understand, even without him saying it out loud.</p><p>He thought about how Kuina had died. He remembered coming back to the dojo, seeing her father on his knees. Everyone said she fell down the stairs. He had known it was a lie, even as a naive child. Kuina was too smart for that. With her incredible reflexes and awareness, there's no way she would've tripped. He knew she had done it herself.</p><p>Zoro took a shuddering breath, realizing he too was tearing up. He pushed it down.</p><p>Luffy gave him a comforting squeeze, the rubber man's arms still wrapped around his first mate.</p><p>"I lost her." He continued. "But, I promised her I would keep going, and get strong enough for the both of us. I still think about her though… a lot. It's hard, but I'm going to make sure that she wouldn't be disappointed in me. I have to keep going for her."</p><p>A soft smile appeared on Luffy's face and this time Zoro knew it was real.</p><p>"Y...yeah. I like that. I'll keep going, for Ace and Sabo. I think they'd understand."</p><p>Zoro felt a small feeling of pride deep in his chest. He'd helped. He'd comforted his friend. He'd told his story. </p><p>The two of them lay there for the rest of the night, holding each other close, sharing each other's pain as well as each other's hope.</p><p>Zoro allowed a single tear to glide down his face.</p><p>They both slept soundly that night.</p>
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